Conservation and Sustainable Development, Brazil

The Amazon is a fascinating place to explore the conservation and development challenges facing tropical forests.

The Amazon is a fascinating place to explore the conservation and development challenges facing tropical forests. Based in the lower Rio Negro region of the Amazon basin, you will see a range of tropical wildlife, from hummingbirds to river dolphins, sloths, caiman and howler monkeys. You will visit people’s homes and agricultural plots to understand the many challenges faced by rainforest people; and spend time in the beautiful forest itself, walking along remote trails or canoeing in the flooded forest. This is a unique opportunity to work with Amazon experts from Lancaster Environment Centre and understand the challenges of pursuing biodiversity conservation whilst also reducing poverty. We will learn how to monitor biodiversity and forest carbon stocks and assess rural livelihoods.

The trip leader, Dr Luke Parry, says “The idea is to question students’ assumptions, to encourage the geographers to become ecologists and the ecologists to become geographers, to see the world through another lens. It helps them to understand the place as a system, the interaction between people and the environment, rather than looking at scattered unconnected case studies."

It provided me with a deeper insight into how humans are reliant on the rainforests for their livelihood. I now understand that the conservation of tropical forests will only be possible if the relationships between people and forests are taken into account